BB: NCAC: North Coast Athletic Conference

[kcreds]

Thanks again Bash6-4-3, I love to read about other prospects too, especially in the offseason.

[formerd3db]

BASH6-4-3:

Thanks for the follow-up.  Agree with the continuity factor and as you indicate, it appears Stevens earned it as well (in addition to the support of the players).
Also, speaks very well for Flynn that he supports his wife in such a tough family decision.  The roles were kind of reversed from what they usually are i.e. it's usually the wife sacrificing for her husband's coaching job.  I would expect that Flynn will eventually end up coaching somewhere out there. 

[woosterbooster]

Just a quick lament.

Year in and year out, the Wooster baseball program produces the same type of team.  Always very strong offensively and with good or excellent pitching.  The Scots are usually top ten or twenty in either or both of these categories.  No one could possibly complain about that.

However, unfortunately, season after season they are defensively flawed, no more effective than an average DIII team when playing in the field.  I don't know why this is, but it is so.  Maybe, when recruiting, they look at offense first, overlooking the prospect's glovework or hoping to be able to improve on it.  Maybe, also, so much time is given to hitting in practice that defense is barely touched on.

When you can hit like Wooster, you'll win a large percentage of games with your bats.  But there are also many games during the year, especially in the post-season when playing against better competition, when the offense isn't there.  That's when it's necessary to make both the big, and the routine, plays in the field.  And too often Wooster doesn't make them.

I don't have the numbers, but it's my impression over watching the last decade or so of seasons that their fielding percentage when defending against bunts is abyssmal.  Horrendous.  Fumbled balls and throws down the right-field line seem to almost equal the number of times that they make the play.  It happened again yesterday at Allegheny and will continue to do so unless they make a serious effort to work on this in practice.

I'm a Wooster fan, but it's disheartening to see them give away so many close games because their defense isn't nearly up to the level of the other aspects of their game.

[BASH6-4-3]

Wooster Booster

Your lament is the crying card for almost all true American baseball fans these days.  Defensive skills have been overlooked at almost every level the past decade being replaced by the "3 run jack"  as the answer to winning games.  Our philosophy was exposed in the WBC this spring as Japan and Cuba played the more complete game.

Another opinion as a former shortstop is that you can work on defense all you want in practice but nothing beats the exposure of your defensive skills like a game.  D3 players are at a huge disadvantage here with a limited game schedule (we averaged 35 games a year at Wabash).  D1, D2, JUCO, NAIA all play 60 plus games and their defensive play greatly improves by May.
Finally, Wooster is at an even greater disadvantage as 20-25 of their games are blow out wins and thus defensive strategy (bunt defense in particular) doesn't get exposed.

[imderekpoe]

I'm a Wooster fan, but it's disheartening to see them give away so many close games because their defense isn't nearly up to the level of the other aspects of their game.

I agree that the Scots need to field a better defensive team.  It is frustrating to watch a team lose games due to fielding miscues.  It should be noted, however, that the Scots have made 14 less errors than their opponents so far this year

On Saturday's loss to the Gators:  I wonder why managers feel the need to bring in their 'closer', when the starter has pitched 6 great innings?  Adam Samson had gone 6 innings giving up 1 earned run.  But they bring in Katich to pitch the seventh.  He promptly gives up a double and makes the crucial throwing error.  I've never been a fan of using the 'closer' just because its a save situation.

I hope to make it over to Otterbein (I live in Columbus) for the game this afternoon.  It will be brisk, but this will be one of my few chances to make a game this season.  Looks like a better option than catching a Reds or Tribe game - at least the Scots have better pitching!

[ScotsFan]

I'll echo the sentiments of WB and derekpoe.  Wooster can't afford to be this sloppy in the field once postseason play begins.  They had 3 more errors in game one on Sunday, but luckily, it didn't cost them like it did in the nightcapper on Saturday.  All 3 runs that the Gators scored in their lone win over the Scots were unearned!  I sure hope they're doing a lot of fielding ground balls in practice.

As for bringing in Katich, I hope it wasn't just for the sake of bringing him in just to pick up a save in the stat column.  I'm hopeful that it was due more to the fact that Adam Samson was getting up there in his pitch count.  Although, the next day, Walt Samson pitched 7 shutout innings only to give way to Ryan Mullins after Wooster plated 3 runs in their half of the 8th.  It could be that Walt's pitch count was at his limit as well.  Mullins was able to work a 1-2-3 8th to pick up the save though.  Mullins also only faced the minimum over the last two innings in game 2 on Sunday to pick up save #2 on the day.  To me, he seems like more of the Scot's #1 closer than does Katich at this time.

[woosterbooster]

I'm not at all a fan of the way managers, almost across the board, use the back end of their bullpens these days.  It used to be that relievers came in because the starter, or whoever was in the game, was either struggling or appeared tired.  Now, managers (and the pitchers, too, in the major leagues at least) want the roles so defined.  Closers are brought in to pitch the last inning, period, irregardless of the situation.

I'm fine about bringing in a new guy to pitch the last inning if the prior pitcher was getting hit or beginning to look tired.  But if he's been successful, retiring the opposition in order or maybe allowing a single baserunner in the last inning, I'm sticking with him.  Because every time you bring a new pitcher into the game you're opening up a can of worms.  No matter how good he may be, you never know what he'll bring to the mound that day.

This strategy has evolved over time, and I'm convinced that it's a copycat strategy.  A few successful managers in the bigs began using their closers this way and everybody jumped on the bandwagon.  Now, no one wants to go against this new "book", because if they fail, they'll be heavily second-guessed.

[ScotsFan]

Wooster has had their way with the OAC so far this season improving to 5-0 against that other conference with a 7-4 win over JCU yesterday.  Now it's on to a pivotal 4 game series against the nationally ranked Kenyon Lords (and no that's not a typo ).  Can anyone think of the last time that Kenyon was ranked ahead of both OWU and Allegheny from the NCAC??? 

The times they are a chaaaangin'..

[imderekpoe]

The Scots sweep 4 from Kenyon this weekend, giving them a 2-game lead (over Allegheny) with 4 games left to play (against Hiram).  Looks like they are all but a lock to repeat as champs of the NCAC East Division.

With the 14 HBP the Scots accumulated this weekend, they now have been hit 65 times in 29 games!

[woosterbooster]

With the 14 HBP the Scots accumulated this weekend, they now have been hit 65 times in 29 games!

Which brings me to this.  Brandon Boesiger is simply amazing, and has become my favorite Scots player.  In what I believe is 87 plate appearances (had to add a few numbers to get that), he's now been hit by 17 pitches. That's a .195 HBP average!  He's hitting .407 with some pop and has an unbelievable .581 OBP.  Plus, he's a very good defensive catcher who can run; 4-4 in the stolen base department.  If I'm managing that team, he's hitting first or second, not down in the order.

Dang, it was cold out there Saturday!  Anybody who was out there for that doubleheader should have received the College of Wooster's version of the old Croix de Candlestick, a little orange pin that the Giants used to give out to those who made it through an extra-innings night game at The Stick.

This home stand is incredible.  Two more good opponents this week, Otterbein and Marietta, before yet another doubleheader Friday and Saturday.  Then more good baseball next week!  I love it!

[imderekpoe]

This home stand is incredible. Two more good opponents this week, Otterbein and Marietta, before yet another doubleheader Friday and Saturday. Then more good baseball next week! I love it!

I wish that I was able to make it up for more games, but its just not working out this year. 
Does anyone know how the semi-final series works?  Best of 3?  I was thinking of coming up for the Rebounders Golf Outing on the 29th, but maybe I'll just come up for the baseball games instead.

[woosterbooster]

I believe that you're right, the semifinals are best of three, at the home field of the divisional champion.  That would be Saturday and Sunday, April 29th and 30th.  I can't remember if they play 2 games on Saturday and the "if necessary" game on Sunday, or if they play only one on Saturday, and one or two on Sunday, depending.

Then the finals are down at Wittenberg.

[wally_wabash]

There's a good race going on out in the west. The standings right now, along with the remaining NCAC West opponents:

Wabash 6-2 (@OWU, Denison)
OWU 9-3 (Wabash)
Witt 6-6 (Earlham)
Denison 3-5 (Earham, @Wabash)
Earlham 0-8 (Witt, Denison)

Wabash is in decent position to make the NCAC tournament for the first time.  A split with OWU would be huge this weekend and take a ton of pressure off of the Denison series to wrap up conference play. 

[woosterbooster]

Well, my hat is off to the College of Wooster.  Today, post-game, they came across a way to improve their fielding.  Not by hanging around on the field for some much-needed glovework, but by altering the boxscore of today's game against Otterbein.

Wooster made 7 errors in this contest, in which they worked hard at blowing a 12-0 lead, only to fail in that endeavour and gather in the ugliest of wins by a score of 13-9. These errors were official, accumulated one-by-one although occasionally in bunches, and were up there for all to see on the scoreboard, the only one in the town of Wooster that actually works.

But lo and behold, the boxscore now posted at the Wooster website shows five errors for Wooster, two of today's miscues miraculously disappearing in the span of a few short hours. Congratulations, Wooster, on learning how to cook the books, 21st-century corporate style.

[ScotsFan]

Wooster made 7 errors in this contest, in which they worked hard at blowing a 12-0 lead, only to fail in that endeavour and gather in the ugliest of wins by a score of 13-9. These errors were official, accumulated one-by-one although occasionally in bunches, and were up there for all to see on the scoreboard, the only one in the town of Wooster that actually works.

But lo and behold, the boxscore now posted at the Wooster website shows five errors for Wooster, two of today's miscues miraculously disappearing in the span of a few short hours. Congratulations, Wooster, on learning how to cook the books, 21st-century corporate style.

That's pretty funny.  The Daily Record had them down for six errors that led to five unearned runs.     Who are we supposed to believe???  

One thing I have heard Coach Pettorini say about hitting is that it is contageous.  Judging from the Scots poor defensive efforts, I guess you could say that poor fielding is contageous as well.

Lastly, has anyone heard why the Marietta game was nixed yesterday?  This was the one game I was really looking forward to seeing, and they go and postpone it.